In recent years, customer service personnel have found that providing a customer with a satisfactory experience in an establishment is increasingly difficult. Competition with other stores, on-line shopping options, and the need for measures to reduce labor costs result in the need for an establishment, such as a commercial enterprise, to find an effective and novel way of providing a memorable and positive experience to a customer.
Hence a need exists for an enhanced interaction with a customer to ensure continued patronage of the commercial enterprise.
Some establishments personalize the customer experience by having the customers check-in upon entry. However, this typically involves manual inputs. For example, the user may need to run a loyalty card over or through an appropriate reader. Other approaches require the user or store personnel to enter identification data for the customer. Check-in theoretically might be automated in response to location detection, for example, using position as determined from global positioning satellite (GPS) signals. However, GPS location determination may not be effective for some commercial enterprises, such as stores in an enclosed mall, where GPS signals may be blocked by building structures.
Generally, department stores and the like have maps to assist customers in finding the desired section of the premises in which they wish to shop. However, these maps are usually not interactive, and if a customer needs to view the map again having walked away from it, the customer is required to walk back to the map and begin again. GPS type automated navigation has become quite common and popular, including for pedestrians. As noted, however, GPS signals may be blocked by building structures; and as a result, GPS based navigation may be ineffective within the buildings of many enterprises.
Therefore, a need exists to provide an easier and more customer-friendly experience for a customer when visiting an establishment or other enterprise.